Disinfectable camera strap?

[ac12]

I have two D5600s that will be used by students.
But as I was checking them out, I realized that the straps are fabric.
Problem. The rule is, when students share gear/equipment, it has to be wiped down, before the next student uses it.
But I cannot wipe disinfect a fabric strap. If there is covid virus on it, it could simply go down into the fabric.
I have not been able to find anything like the old plastic coated straps I had on my Nikkormat, which could be wiped down. All the straps today seem to be fabric.

Can anyone point me to something like the old plastic straps.

 

[Replytoken]

Any chance you could use OP/TECH's quick release (i.e. Fastex) detachable strap system and let each student own their own strap that they could just attach to the cameras? This might make everybody's lives easier as you can easily wipe down the buckles after use. They seem to start around $15 per strap, and the students could keep them afterwards.

--Ken

 

[ac12]

Any chance you could use OP/TECH's quick release (i.e. Fastex) detachable strap system and let each student own their own strap that they could just attach to the cameras? This might make everybody's lives easier as you can easily wipe down the buckles after use. They seem to start around $15 per strap, and the students could keep them afterwards.

--Ken

hmmm, interesting angle to the problem.

That might work for one class.
May not work for another.
I need to think on it.

thanks.

 

[Mike Buckley]

Leather straps would be more expensive but could easily be wiped down.

 

[Butlerkid]

Take the straps off. Problem solved. Then warn the students about dropping the cameras!

 

[Clix Pix]

A variation on the above: take the straps off and tell the students that they have the option to purchase a strap themselves, for use with that and any other camera during the time it is assigned to them.....If they choose not to have a strap on the camera, then they take the risk of something happening, such as the camera being dropped and/or knocked over somewhere. Tell them that they would be responsible for replacing a damaged camera and that their parents better have good insurance! I like Ken's idea, too, of using an Op/Tech system and that way the students could simply snap their own Op/Tech strap into the connectors that are on the camera.

 

[F15Todd]

I would keep the straps you have and put hydrogen peroxide in a misting spray bottle and use that.

 

[Replytoken]

My concern with not giving students straps and then putting the responsibility on them is that accidents still do happen, and while a strap does not fully prevent an accident, it does significantly reduce one if used properly. I would hate for a preventable accident to happen and have a student have to deal with the fall out. The thing I like about Op/TECH straps is that they are not expensive and the students can keep them afterwards as each strap comes with its own quick release buckle.

--Ken

 

[Phil K]

Use a UV disinfecting lamp.

 

[barry lloyd]

get them to wear a mask when using the cameras

 

[ac12]

get them to wear a mask when using the cameras

Does not help the contact issue.

 

[ac12]

I'm recommending Ken's idea of the OpTech strap.
It will do the job, and at $14 it is affordable for a class.

UV light has safety issues, to protect the skin and eyes from damage.
Unless it is the teacher, it will be teenagers doing the disinfecting.

Hydrogen peroxide, would require spraying the strap, while it is on the camera. I would not trust the kids (teenagers) to not to also soak the camera. Maybe we can figure out how to make it work. But it will be messy.

Thanks guys.

 

[MikEm13]

I don't know how many straps your talking about but If its more then a couple Op-Teck might work with you on pricing. It would get their product into the hands of new photographers.

 

[ac12]

I don't know how many straps your talking about but If its more then a couple Op-Teck might work with you on pricing. It would get their product into the hands of new photographers.

hmm, that is an idea. I just sent an email to Op/Tech asking about school quantity purchase.
I don't know the student count yet. The teacher has to get back to me on that.

 

[ac12]

The school said no, to buying straps for all the student photographers, so the OpTech idea is dead

I really do not like the idea of students using the cameras without a strap. Murphy would be just waiting to make them drop the camera.
I was able to find some vintage plastic straps on eBay. These should be disinfectable.
I hope they are in decent condition. My guess is they are about 30 years old.

 

[Replytoken]

The school said no, to buying straps for all the student photographers, so the OpTech idea is dead

I really do not like the idea of students using the cameras without a strap. Murphy would be just waiting to make them drop the camera.
I was able to find some vintage plastic straps on eBay. These should be disinfectable.
I hope they are in decent condition. My guess is they are about 30 years old.

So sorry. This sounds a bit like a penny wise, pound foolish decision during COVID, but I do not know all of the circumstances they considered when they made their decision. But kudos to you for seeking out straps to keep the kids, and the cameras, as safe as you can.

--Ken

 

[ac12]

So sorry. This sounds a bit like a penny wise, pound foolish decision during COVID, but I do not know all of the circumstances they considered when they made their decision. But kudos to you for seeking out straps to keep the kids, and the cameras, as safe as you can.

--Ken

I figure the school restart this year must have WAY more expensive than prior years, and the school budget was probably hit hard, leaving the teachers left scrimping and scrounging for supplies.
As you said, a dropped and broken camera is a waste of money for a comparatively inexpensive strap.
The cameras were from a donation and a grant, so not out of the school budget. The straps would have been out of the school budget.

At least I remembered the plastic straps from when I shot film, so I knew they existed. The question was, were any of the old ones still around, and will they still be in good enough shape to use, after more than 30 or 40 years?

Once the sharing ban is lifted, and we don't have to disinfect the gear between students, we can go back to the modern fabric straps.

 

[ac12]

ARGH Murphy hit, one of the two straps is a mm too wide
My error. Now I have to go order another strap.

 

[fishbio]

ARGH Murphy hit, one of the two straps is a mm too wide
My error. Now I have to go order another strap.

or bigger split rings for the eyelets.

 

[ac12]

or bigger split rings for the eyelets.

The D5600 has a strap slot that is into the body, not an eyelet like the older cameras.

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I could probably put a split ring onto that rod. But it would be simpler to just use a strap on it. KISS.
New strap ordered.